


Every Question Has an Answer

by EsotericThaumaturge



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Introspection, aka my lame attempt to write something about characters i barely know, byleth has a secret crush, only a little bit of extrapolation, pre-release
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 16:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18673027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsotericThaumaturge/pseuds/EsotericThaumaturge
Summary: “Who would you pick, I mean? Between Edelgard, Claude, and Dimitri?”Sothis is curious to find out what Byleth wants to do with his life now that he's a teacher. To her dismay, it turns out he's just as clueless as she is.





	Every Question Has an Answer

“I wonder… what path will you take?”

It had only been a few fateful weeks since Byleth had been acquainted with Sothis, but he had already grown used to hearing her soft voice whenever the dinn of the outside world started to fade out. However, his relative familiarity with Sothis did not stop him from being confused by her abrupt question. 

Byleth stood in the mysterious ruin that Sothis made her home. One of the things he could never get used to was being ripped from his peaceful stroll through the plains near the monastery to find himself in some damp, old chamber. But Sothis would have it no other way, and he knew that it was pointless to argue with her. 

“What do you mean by that?”

Sothis was curled up on top of what Byleth had been calling her little throne - it kinda reminded him of the cat that he occasionally found roaming the monastery whenever it would curl up beneath a tree on a specially sunny day. “Who would you pick, I mean? Between Edelgard, Claude, and Dimitri?”

Byleth was very acquainted with the three - after all, he had been hired to accompany them to the monastery. His father, despite being quite a few years into his retirement, was still very much trusted by all three nations. Naturally, the three heirs had extended that same trust to his own son, and throughout their brief time together they’ve managed to form an amicable relationship. But what Sothis meant still remained a mystery to him. “That doesn’t really clear things up.”

Sothis huffed. “I mean, you are going to be a teacher from now on, are you? Not only that, but you’d be the leader of one of the three houses - which your three buddies just happen to belong to. Have you been paying attention at all?”

“Of course I’ve been paying attention. I just wasn’t aware that it was my choice to make.” 

“Perhaps it might be, perhaps it might not.” Sothis shrugged slightly. “But for just one second, try to imagine. What path would you yourself choose to take if it was in your hands? Surely you have to have some favoritism towards one of them, right?”

Byleth was unsure how to answer that question. He hadn’t been willing to give much thought to who he felt closer to when it came down to it. For his whole life, he had only thought of the three kingdoms through the lens as someone who had no real home, as someone who was always on the road. To actually get to know the people behind these massive powers was quite a … new experience for him, especially for someone of his low standing. Even so, as someone with no allegiance to any of the kingdoms, he couldn’t instantly single out any one of them as being more significant to him. “I can’t answer that question. I haven’t known them for long enough to pick favorites. They’re all great people, as far as I know, but…”  
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Sothis rose to her own two feet, her large green eyes looking down on Byleth from the stone steps that led up to the upraised throne. “You’re afraid of what your choice means. You have a special fate, Byleth, and whoever of those three becomes your student… they too will inherit your destiny. But what of the other two that remain? What will be their fate?”

Byleth looked down at the floor beneath him, trying his best to ignore Sothis’s piercing gaze. “Maybe I am. You keep saying I’m special, but I don’t feel special. All these powers you’ve given me… they’re yours, not mine. Whatever gift I have that gave me this special fate… it just doesn’t feel right. Why was I entrusted with this role?”

“... You know I can’t answer that question.” Sothis sighed - Byleth saw the features on her face soften, her expression carrying a sadness to it. It was easy to forget that Sothis had forgotten her purpose as well. She acted on the faint vestiges of memory that led her path crossing with Byleth, who was now her only hope of finding what her true purpose is. “We’re both just as clueless. But there must be a reason! Somewhere, in the distant future, lies an answer to all our questions… so I can only hope you can find the right path.”

Byleth raised his head, meeting Sothis’s gaze. “... I don’t know if I have it in me. I will never stop thinking that this was just a big mistake on whatever god decided to pick me out as their ‘chosen one’. But… if you put your faith in me, then maybe we can both find the answers we want.”

“... Byleth… Perhaps she really did make the right choice.”

“Um…” 

“By the way!” Sothis’s somber mood suddenly shifted back into a more familiar perkiness. “You never did answer my question, did you?”

“H-hey, can you just drop it?” A faint pink blush spread across Byleth’s cheek. He had attempted to hide it before, and he did a good job, but even he couldn’t keep his true feelings bottled up forever. “Listen, you’ll know if I ever have to make that choice!”

“Oh, so you do have a soft spot for one of them! And it sounds like it isn’t just ‘respect’, isn’t it Byleth?”

“We’re done here.”

“W-wait, where are you going! Hey, you’re not leaving anywhere until you tell me! Come oooon, I can’t even tell anyone!”  
A stalemate was reached that day. Eventually, Sothis was forced to give up her poking and prodding and let Byleth go back to his stroll. She was disappointed that she had failed to get one of her biggest questions answered, but at least she had something else to look forward when the story truly began.

**Author's Note:**

> I already sold my soul to Claude and the deers but you can insert whichever house leader you prefer and the effect would still be the same. That being said, i hope you enjoyed this short little thing i wrote out of boredom during a particularly uneventful lunch.


End file.
